Outside City Hall, Brendan’s sincere, loving face appeared before me. “Cassie, I know I don’t have a house or a car right now, but I swear, if we work hard together, I’ll definitely buy you a car and a house! Then your mom won’t object to us anymore.” His voice was as gentle as ever, his eyes filled with what looked like deep affection. My stomach, however, churned violently. I shoved him away and ran to a nearby trash can, retching, wanting to throw up my guts. In my previous life, Brendan had sweet-talked me into eloping and marrying him. Not long after, I got pregnant. My health indicators weren’t good during pregnancy, and the doctors strongly recommended terminating the pregnancy. But he, that beast, claimed the baby was our love child, that the hospital was just trying to scam us for money, and prevented me from getting an abortion. Ultimately, complications from fetal demise caused my IQ to drop to that of a three-year-old. That’s when my nightmare truly began. On camera, he rode the wave of public sympathy, caring for his “mentally incapacitated wife,” appearing in major media outlets and being hailed as the “most devoted husband.” The media praised him, and netizens were moved by his unwavering commitment, showering him with donations. Off-camera, my meals were stale, my clothes tattered. He even used to fling open my window in winter, just so I’d get sick and appear more pitiful during his livestreams, making it easier to rake in donations. I watched him reap fame and fortune, powerless to do anything. This devil even pushed my mother down the stairs when my parents had exhausted all their savings on my treatment and were forced to beg him to use his donation money for my medical bills. He then threatened my father not to call the police, using me as leverage. With the mind of a three-year-old, I saw my mother fall down the stairs and tried to follow her. But in the chaos, Brendan, mid-argument with my father, brutally shoved me down the stairs too. The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes again, and I was back on the very day Brendan and I were supposed to get our marriage license.
Seeing me vomit, a flicker of disgust crossed Brendan’s face. Then, as if something clicked, his voice took on a barely concealed delight. “Cassie, are you, are you pregnant?” Pregnant? In my last life, I discovered I was pregnant shortly after getting married, then spiraled into a nightmare. Could I be pregnant already? But I remembered Brendan and I always used protection before marriage. I instinctively clutched my lower abdomen, my limbs going cold. I was still processing, but Brendan had already confidently declared, “You’re definitely pregnant.” “How are you so sure?” I looked at Brendan with suspicion. We’d been using contraception, and he knew it. Besides, I was just nauseous; how could he be so certain? He seemed surprised by my question. A hint of awkwardness flashed across his face, then he couldn’t contain the excitement in his voice. “I’ve seen how other women act when they’re pregnant. “Cassie, this is great news! Your parents only have you, their only daughter. They’ll be so happy when they find out you’re pregnant, they won’t object to us being together anymore.” Brendan was so excited he was almost doing a little jig, and my stomach twisted again. If it were my past, naive, head-over-heels self, I might have thought he genuinely looked forward to our child. But this time, I suddenly remembered a news story I’d seen online about a guy who, to get his girlfriend’s parents to agree to the marriage, secretly poked holes in condoms to get her pregnant. I’d even shown that news story to Brendan back then, condemning the guy as a fraud. Brendan had echoed my condemnation, calling the guy irresponsible and swearing he’d never do such a thing. He said he’d only earn my parents’ approval through his own hard work, which had brought me to tears. Now that I thought about it, maybe he’d been plotting it all along. Perhaps sensing my prolonged silence, Brendan began to hurry me. “Cassie, let’s just get our marriage license now. After that, we can go to your house and tell your parents the good news!” No, absolutely not. I couldn’t get married to him. I knew how incredibly difficult divorce was once you’d signed the papers. As soon as we registered, I might never escape this man again in my entire life. Thinking this, I blurted out, “I don’t want to get married right now.” “What? “What do you mean? Are you now, like your parents, looking down on me because my family is poor?” Brendan’s smile instantly stiffened, his tone becoming angry, his voice rising. The eyes of everyone around us couldn’t help but turn our way. Brendan seemed to draw encouragement from the attention, launching into a tearful performance of his “devotion.” “Cassie, I know my family is poor, but my parents even pulled out their life savings for us to get married. Now you’re saying you don’t want to? What about my family?” As sympathetic glances fell on Brendan, the eyes that looked at me were subtly edged with condemnation. I hadn’t realized before how good an actor Brendan was; no wonder he could stream and rake in donations in my past life. Seeing my silence, Brendan put on a loving face again and reached out to grab my hand. “Cassie, I know you’re just saying silly things because you’re upset. We’ve come so far; let’s not fight, okay? Let’s just go get our marriage license.”
As his hand approached, my body instinctively recoiled. Just as a fresh wave of anger began to darken his face and he was about to say something, I forced a smile, linked my arm through his, and spoke first. “What are you talking about? If I looked down on you for being poor, why would I even be with you? I’m just thinking about the baby!” Brendan’s face lit up with a smile. “I knew you weren’t the type of woman to be a gold-digger, Cassie. So, let’s go get our license now.” With that, he tried to pull me toward the counter. I still resisted. When he looked at me, I said, half-jokingly, half-seriously, “You know my parents have always been against us. They don’t even know I came out with you to get our license. “If they found out I was pregnant and secretly got married, they’d be furious. Forget a wedding fund, they probably wouldn’t even let me back in the house. “But if we tell them I’m pregnant first, they’ll worry about me and definitely won’t object anymore. “And when both families formally discuss the wedding, since I’m their only daughter, they’ll surely give a generous wedding fund.” I emphasized the “wedding fund.” Brendan seemed to waver. I added, “You know how proud my dad is. He would never let me be pregnant before marriage.” Brendan fell right into the trap. After all, in his mind, if I was pregnant, there was no way I wouldn’t marry him. And I had always been so blindly devoted to him; he was confident that this ‘naive’ girl wouldn’t escape his clutches. “Cassie, you’re right. Let’s go back to your place now and tell your parents the good news!” Brendan excitedly gripped my hands, already mentally spending the money he was sure to get. “Wait, you’re just going to show up at my house empty-handed?” I feigned annoyance, adding a playful whine. “Like this, how will my parents see your sincerity? How will they trust you with me?” “Oh, right, right! See, I was so excited I forgot! Cassie, let’s go buy something to bring to your parents first.” Brendan slapped his forehead, feigning a moment of realization. “I won’t go with you. I need to go home first and give them a heads-up. Just buy the gifts and come straight over. Oh, and my dad loves tea.” Though Brendan grudgingly accepted I wouldn’t go with him – meaning no one would cover the cost of the gifts – in his mind, my marrying him was a done deal. So he didn’t say much more, turning to leave to buy the presents. As I watched Brendan’s retreating back, the smile instantly vanished from my face, replaced by a bone-chilling cold.
Leaving City Hall, I immediately hailed a taxi home. My mom opened the door, looking surprised and a little overwhelmed to see me. “Sweetheart, you’re home.” “Mom,” I rushed into her arms, bursting into tears instantly. “I’m home.” Feeling my mom’s warm embrace, smelling the familiar scent of her laundry detergent, I was too choked up to speak. It was wonderful. This time, Mom was safe and sound; she hadn’t been pushed down the stairs by that beast Brendan. “Sweetheart, why are you crying?” Mom patted my back, her voice full of worry. Dad stood nearby, his face anxious. Seeing my red, swollen eyes, his expression immediately darkened. “Did that Brendan boy bully you? I told you before he was unreliable…” Sensing Dad was about to launch into another long lecture about Brendan, Mom quickly cut him off, carefully observing my expression, afraid the two of us would start arguing again. Before, whenever Dad spoke ill of Brendan, I would immediately jump to his defense, and we’d argued countless times over it. I wiped away my tears, took a deep breath, and after much thought, decided to lay out everything that happened in my past life. I omitted the part about my IQ dropping due to pregnancy complications, only telling them that Brendan treated me terribly after my miscarriage. To make my parents believe me, I even mentioned several future events that would soon occur as proof. I thought it would be hard to convince them, but to my surprise, the old couple only looked surprised for a moment before believing me. Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Mom tenderly held my hand. “Of course I believe my own child.” Dad echoed her. “Given how stubbornly misguided you were before, something major must have happened for you to finally see that Brendan boy for who he really is.” Seeing my parents’ unwavering trust, my tears welled up again, mixed with a bit of embarrassment. How had I been so utterly smitten by that scumbag Brendan in my past life, causing my parents to worry so much at their age? “Sweetheart, don’t be afraid. Your dad and I will never let him bother you again.” Mom hugged me tightly, her voice trembling but firm. Her precious daughter, whom she had doted on, had been treated like that; she wanted nothing more than to skin that scumbag Brendan alive. “Mom, I’m not afraid of that scumbag, but he’s a master of theatrics. If I suddenly break up with him like this, he’ll spin the narrative, and it’ll look like our family is in the wrong, which could also affect Dad’s career.” My hand instinctively went to my lower abdomen. “And… I think I might be pregnant.” Mom immediately looked at me with alarm. “How could this happen?” Dad also frowned. “Then, the baby…” “Mom, Dad, even if I am, I won’t keep it. But right now, Brendan thinks I’m trapped by this baby. Maybe I can use this opportunity to get my revenge on him.” My proud and strong father’s eyes reddened. He said in a deep voice, “Sweetheart, what do you want to do? Your dad will risk his reputation to help you!” “Dad, your former subordinate, David Sterling, was trying to get you to invest, right? That scam David Sterling is running is about to collapse, and he’s planning one last big score before skipping town. But Brendan doesn’t know that…” Seeing that I had a plan, my parents were both relieved and heartbroken, unable to imagine how much suffering their daughter must have endured to become like this. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. Your mom and dad will support you, no matter what.” Just as I finished outlining the plan against Brendan, a knock sounded at the door. “Mom, Dad, Cassie, it’s me.” Brendan’s voice followed.
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